Heads-up poker is a form of poker that is played between only two players. It might be played during a larger cash game session, where the game is breaking up and only two players remain on the table, or where two players are trying to start a game and playing heads-up while waiting for other opponents. It is also a necessary phase in most sit-and-go (SNG) poker tournaments; the single remaining tournament winner will at some point have to face only a single opponent. Alternatively, heads-up poker may be played on purpose, either in a cash game format, or as a SNG, where two players play a winner-take-all tournament for a fixed, previously agreed upon amount of money. On larger online poker rooms and during certain tournament series, one may stumble upon larger heads-up tournaments, usually in the shoot-out format. Usually, in order to ensure the fairness of the game, all players finishing at the same level of the tournament bracket will be paid out the same amount of money, no matter what their finishing place is.

Strategy[edit]

The rules of heads-up poker are the same as in a game with three or more players, except in community card poker, the blinds are usually reversed in order to decrease the positional advantage in matches between two players of similar skill. Nevertheless, the strategy employed tends to be vastly different from a multi-handed poker game. Since only two players take part in the hand, the chance of having the best hand is much higher than in a multi-handed game, which causes the game to become more aggressive than normal. Bluffs for example become easier to pull off in a heads-up game since it is only necessary to bluff a single opponent in order to win the pot, whereas in a multi-handed game there is a greater risk of someone having a big hand that cannot be bluffed.

Texas Hold'em Poker Odds Calculator. 100% up to $500. Poker Tournament Rules Poker Casinos World Series of Poker World Poker Tour European Poker Tour NBC Heads-Up WSOP Circuit. Play no-limit Texas Hold Em poker in 3D perspective against advanced AI opponents. In Texas Holdem Poker you must draw good card, bluff and win lots of money! You can play poker against easy, medium and strong opponents. All players will play fair, they don't see your cards. Playing heads-up only happens in tournaments if you are the last two players left in the field. However, 2 player poker is something you can do for fun either as a cash game or tournament at home. If you want to read more about heads-up poker, I wrote a detailed article on the heads-up poker rules for Texas Hold’em. One of the most challenging forms of poker in the world is, without a doubt, heads-up No-Limit Texas Hold’em. Besides a little luck, it demands players to have a set of skills that are different from those seen when playing a table full of opponents. Typically, the best poker players in the world are experts in heads-up play.

In spite of the diversity of strategies one can design, it is important to remark that the heads-up limit Texas hold'em variation has been claimed to be 'essentially weakly solved' in January 2015 by the Cepheus poker-playing bot. Theoretically a slightly better strategy exists but would not be able to win more than one big blind per thousand games on average. A person using that strategy would not be able to prove with statistical significance that it was better than Cepheus even with a lifetime of playing against it.^[1][2]

The bot can be played online at poker.srv.ualberta.ca, and users can even query strategies from the software.

Tournaments[edit]

In poker tournaments heads-up poker is played as individual events and there are also heads-up championships. Heads-up poker tournaments are typically played as knock-out tournaments. An example of a heads-up tournament is the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

References[edit]

1. ^Bowling, Michael; Burch, Neil; Johanson, Michael; Tammelin, Oskari (Jan 2015). 'Heads-up limit hold'em poker is solved'. Science. 347 (6218): 145–9. doi:10.1126/science.1259433. PMID25574016.
2. ^Emily Conover (8 January 2015). 'Texas Hold 'em poker solved by computer'. Retrieved 15 January 2015.

advanced strategy

'Only one of us is walking out of here alive.'

While not quite so dramatic as the infamous line above, headsup Texas Hold'em is a very fast paced, rapid-fire game that often ends in a flash.

Not the flash from a bullet being fired from a pistol but 'bullets' are often the last thing your opponent sees before being sent to the rail! For the Texas Hold'em player who finds themselves heads up at their first final table, these tips will help you live to fight another battle.

Basic Heads-up Holdem Strategy

The first thing that you'll need to toss out the window (not literally, you'll need it when playing standard ring games and full tables) is the poker starting hand chart you've used forever. When you're playing short handed and certainly when playing heads up, starting hands that normally would be folded are often a raising hand. That's right, a raising hand.

Why would I raise with Qd 4c? Easy if you're heads up, more than half the time you're likely to win against a random hand here. Think about it for a moment, there are only four more Kings and four more Aces left in the deck. If your opponent is holding one of these, even with a rag card, they will likely re-raise here (as should you if the scenario is reversed).

If they smooth call and the flop brings a scare card like the King, you can get away pretty easily as you don't have much to bluff raise with here anymore.

Playing Possum In HU Holdem

Texas Hold'em Heads Up Poker Machine

There are many other hands in heads up play that you will play completely different vs. full ring game play.

Another such example may be if you're holding pocket Aces and you're last to act. The correct play almost 100% of the time here is to just check your blind and play the flop. The opposite applies in a ring game, if you get limpers and you're the BB, you run a huge risk of one of them out flopping you.

Heads up it's a new set of rules; you want your opponent to connect here. Of course they could hit a crappy two pair here or a big draw that winds up winning.

The difference is that the odds are overwhelmingly on your side when playing heads up. Even if your opponent has a very playable (heads up) hand like Q 10 off suit, you're almost an 84% favorite to win this hand heads up. It's even better if they hit their Queen on the flop because it's very likely that all of the chips are getting in on this hand.

So sometimes playing possum here is the right move, even soft playing the flop at times. Yes, even if they hit their Queen on the flop you remain an almost 83% favorite here! Check the odds to see how this works.

Texas Hold'em Poker Heads Up Game

Playing Big Draws Heads Up

Another great tactic is the semi-bluff when you're HU.

Check raising on a flop where you are looking at an open ended straight draw or a big flush draw with over cards is a great move. The same logic applies even if you're holding rags here because it's just as likely heads up that the villain here is holding rags, too.

So being the aggressor here and betting the flop is a great move. Of course, there will be times that your opponent hits their hand. Maybe they're just tired of your bluffing and bluff re-raise you.

So what? Fold the hand and try a new tactic the next hand. You won't have to wait long, because you're heads up! So be quick on your feet, change gears often, and try these tactics the next time you find yourself heads up at an online poker table.

Tx Poker Texas Holdem Poker

A great online poker room for a wide selection of heads-up matches is Full Tilt. Visit them today.